Biographical Sketch of William Sumner Jewett, Jefferson County, Missouri

>From "History of Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, Crawford and 
Gasconade Counties", Biographical Appendix, Goodspeed Publishing 
Company, 1888.

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William Sumner Jewett, a well known and truly representative citizen of
Jefferson County, is worthy of prominent mention in the present volume.
The family of which he is a member is of English origin, some of its 
members having come to this country in the "Mayflower" or a little 
later.  Mark Jewett, William's grandfather, was a native of Connecticut
but afterward immigrated to New Hampshire, where he reared a family of
seven sons and two daughters, who, naturally of an adventurous spirit,
finally became settled over different parts of the Western World. 
Gilman, the third son, and father of the subject of this sketch, first
went to the coast of Maine, but later started for a point further west.
Afterr a trip filled with experiences too numerous to mention here, he
started for the lead mines of Missouri, landing at Selma, in this coun-
ty, where he made the acquantance of Col. William Alexander, who pre-
vailed on him to teach a school in the vicinity of his (Alexander's)
home, in Randolph County, Ill.  For two winters, early in the "twent-
ies", he wielded the birch, and raised one crop during the summer, and
the following February married Elizabeth Alexander, daughter of his 
employer.  Following this he purchased the Nathaniel Hull farm, on
which was a block house for protection against the Indians, and there
prospered as a farmer and stock raiser.  Five children blessed the 
union of himself and wife, three of whom survive: Sumner, Laura and
Samuel.  In 1835 he died of cholera, contracted while in St. Louis.  
His wife followed him in March, 1837.  William Sumner Jewett was born
in the old block house referred to, September 28, 1827, and upon the
death of his parents suffered the usual treatment of homeless orphans,
until, through the goodness of his guardian, Col. J. A. James, one of
God's noblemen, he became an inmate of his home, where he enjoyed the
advantages of a good common school education, remaining there until of
age.  The temptation to enlist in the Mexican War was strong, but duty
pointed to the discharge of work about the farm of his guardian, where
he closely applied himself.  Subsequently, while on a visit to Steuben-
ville, Ohio, he became engaged in teaching, at which he met with excel-
lent success, but, not considering that occupation his especial calling
he returned to Illinois, resumed farming, and October 10, 1849, married
Miss Cecilia Adlesberger.  They began their married life in a genuine
pioneer manner, soon completing a log cabin, into which they moved and
afterward devoting themselves, early and late, and with much energy, to
the acquirement and cultivation of their increasing possessions, final-
ly a few acres were cleared of timber, but by the overflow of the river
in 1851, the results of their earnest labor were swept away, added to
which was a loss sustained by the rascality of one with whom Mr. Jewett
had had business transactions.  He now bought the privilege of selling
wood on the Missouri side of the river, and undertaking which brought
with it, as subsequent events proved, numerous difficulties and finan-
cial perplexities, but, on the whole, he was enabled by the latter part
of 1855 to feel a sense of relief at the improvement in his condition.
During this time, in July, 1852, he had lost his wife and child by 
death.  In April, 1856, he bought the Plattin Rock property, an old 
lead landing in Jefferson County, Mo., and married, the next September,
Miss Permelia A. Breckinridge, of Old Mines, Washington County, Mo.
The financial crash of 1857 again caused him serious annoyance.  Some 
time after he purchased "Calico Island," opposite Plattin Rock, commen-
ced its improvement, and soon had 500 cords of wood cut, ready for
shipment, when by the ravages of an overflowing river, 1858, it was all
swept away.  By no means discouraged by his misfortunes, Mr. Jewett
turned his attentiion to fruit farming, but, by the breaking out of the
war, an unsettled condition of affairs generally resulted.  Of Southern
sympathies he was, however, opposed to secession, and finally enlisted
and served three months in the Eighty-first Enrolled Missouri Militia
under Col. L. J. Rankin, in 1863.  Early the next year he formed a
partnership with Col. N. J. Colman in the fruit raising business, in
the meantime carrying on the white sand business which he had commenced
the year previous.  The former did not result as favorably as hoped for,
but the latter he still continued, notwithstanding the opposition and 
ridicule met with in his efforts to bring before others the importance
of his undertaking.  In this connection, it might well be mentioned 
that his main object in the sand business was not the making of money
for the time being, but the future improvement of the country and the
establishment of manufactories here.  In the absence of home markets
for the sand secured, shipments to other places had to be made, a
difficulty which can more readily be appreciated when the fact is stat-
ed that all serviceable barges or boats were pressed into military 
service.  In the spring of 1865, upon the close of the war, a company 
was formed to transport the sand to the East, but, through mismanage-
ment, the barge purchased sank and caused additional loss by the sink-
ing of another barge loaded with iron, which was aground in the channel
of the river.  In September, 1864, Mr. Jewett was deprived of the sight
of one eye by an accident.  The plate glass works at Crystal City prov-
ed an available market for the sand produced for some years, or until 
the panic of 1873 forced the works to close.  From this time on he was
interested in several undertakings, among which was the raising of 
grapes for wine making, and in this connection it is but proper to re-
mark that Mr. Jewett, after no little experience, considers the soil of
Jefferson County far superior in every respect to flat prairie land for
the production of all kinds of fruits, cereals, etc.  Politically he is
a Democrat, having voted for Lewis Cass for president, in 1848.  While
attending the St. Louis University, in 1846, he joined the Catholic
Church, of which his wife and children are also members.  The names of 
the children are: Jessie, William B., James Charles, Cecilia and Samuel.
Since 1880 Mr. Jewett has devoted himself to labor about his farm, a
favorite occupation, though at odd times he has developed the rock on
his place, and in 1887 took out some 5,000 perches for the glass works
and others.  Now on the shady side of sixty years, his estimable wife 
and himself can look back upon their life work on the past without re-
gret and to the future without fear.

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